Eric Morris arrived at North Texas with a reputation as an offensive guru and a track record of finding and developing elite quarterbacks when he landed at the school back in the closing days of 2022.
The former Texas Tech wide receiver continued his rise at UNT the last three seasons, when he pulled all the right strings as a first-time head coach on the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
That success made it seem like a matter of time before a program higher up the college football food chain would pluck Morris away from UNT.
That time arrived Tuesday, when Morris agreed to take over the program at Oklahoma State. He will guide UNT through the remainder of the season.
Statement from VP/Director of Athletics Jared Mosley on UNT Football.
— Mean Green Sports (@MeanGreenSports)
鈥淓ric informed me earlier today that he has accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State University,鈥� UNT athletic director Jared Mosley said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon. 鈥淥n behalf of the University of North Texas, I want to express our deep gratitude to Eric for everything he has done for Mean Green Football over the past three seasons.鈥�
Morris appeared at his weekly press conference on Tuesday ahead of UNT鈥檚 game against Temple on Friday, his signature Mean Green attire noticeably absent. Morris has emphasized the importance of remaining focused on the season over the last few days as his name came up in connection with multiple schools looking for a new coach.
Morris said after UNT鈥檚 win over Rice on Saturday that his focus was solely on the Mean Green. He stuck with that stance Tuesday.
鈥淭hese guys have earned a great opportunity,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淲e have put ourselves into this position to play meaningful games at the end of November.鈥�
UNT is 10-1 on the season and 6-1 in American Conference play. The Mean Green can earn a spot in the conference title game with a win over Temple and are also in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Morris enjoyed his best campaign at UNT in his finale and saw his stock rise quickly in college football. He has a 21-15 record at UNT. He will be the first UNT coach to finish with a winning record at the school since legendary coach Hayden Fry left UNT in 1978.
UNT hit a host of milestones in Morris鈥� tenure, including cracking the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 1959. The Mean Green are ranked No. 21 this week.
Oklahoma State will soon finalize a contract with Morris, which will create a windfall for UNT. Morris鈥� buyout is 60% of his remaining base salary. He signed an extension earlier this year with a $950,000 base salary that runs through the 2029 season.
The attention Morris and the Mean Green received from being nationally ranked and posting a host of head-turning wins never derailed UNT.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to focus on one step at a time,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 easier said than done. Human nature creeps in, and you start looking and worrying about what could happen down the road.鈥�
The way UNT handled the national attention that came its way further elevated Morris鈥� stature nationally that is based largely on his history with quarterbacks. Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Tennessee Titans starter Cam Ward played for Morris at Texas Tech and Incarnate Word, respectively.
Morris鈥� latest find sent his stock soaring. Drew Mestemaker arrived at UNT as an unheralded walk-on. Morris turned him into one of the most productive players in the country.
Mestemaker was a backup in high school and hadn鈥檛 started a game at quarterback since playing for the B team his freshman season before guiding UNT in a bowl loss to Texas State in the First Responder Bowl last year. He thrived at UNT under Morris while throwing for 3,469 yards and 26 touchdowns in his debut season as a starter. His yardage total leads the country.
鈥淏eing confident in plays as a quarterback is really big,鈥� Mestemaker said this fall while detailing why he鈥檚 been successful under Morris. 鈥淭o be able to freely talk to coach Morris on the sideline and tell him what I鈥檓 seeing and what I like makes it that much easier.鈥�
The challenge for UNT now will be to find another coach who can build on what Morris established and to hang on to its top players. UNT boosters and school officials met last month in an effort to put together a package to keep Morris that ultimately came up short.
The school agreed to renegotiate Morris鈥� contract even though he had just signed a new deal and also pledged to contribute more funds for UNT鈥檚 name, image and likeness program for football players. Boosters also vowed to contribute more.
Those boosters were realistic about UNT鈥檚 chances even with those efforts to retain Morris.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying everything we can to get into the arena, but I don鈥檛 know,鈥� key donor Rex Glendenning said.
The success UNT enjoyed under Morris and the investment the school has made in the program will make the job more attractive than it鈥檚 ever been. The school has increased its budget to $53 million, up from just under $40 million in the 2020 fiscal year.
UNT is hoping that additional support will help it enjoy more success when it comes to hanging on to its top players. The Mean Green lost their quarterback, leading rusher and leading receiver to the transfer market after each of the last two seasons.
Morris spoke repeatedly this season about how the program needed more to work with as it looked to retain players.
Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins would both be highly sought after on the transfer market, if they elect to pursue that route. UNT鈥檚 quarterback has reportedly been at the top of power conference teams鈥� lists of the players they would pursue if they became available in the transfer portal all season.
The expectation over the last several weeks has been that Mestemaker would follow Morris to his next stop if he were to take another job. Hawkins is an Oklahoma native.
Retaining the top players on the roster is a challenge that will now fall to a new coach.
UNT is just starting with the process, but former Florida and Louisiana coach Billy Napier is expected to be a possibility. Napier has stopped by several programs since he was fired by Florida and was at UNT just a few days ago.
Mosley has an impressive hiring record at UNT, highlighted by his decision to bring Morris on ahead of the 2023 season.
Morris served as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and Washington State with a stint as the head coach at Incarnate Word between. Morris took over a UNT team that played in a bowl game in all but one of the seven seasons Seth Littrell coached the Mean Green. UNT failed to win any of those bowl games.
Morris said the program needed a bit of a tweak when he arrived at UNT. He provided that boost. The Mean Green finished 5-7 in his first year and moved to 6-7 last year with an appearance in the First Responder Bowl before taking off this fall.
UNT hammered Washington State 59-10, one of the program-record six times the Mean Green has cleared the 50-point mark this season behind Mestemaker,.
Mosley has hired a series of coaches with experience as head coaches at the lower levels of college athletics.
He hired women鈥檚 basketball coach Jason Burton away from Texas A&M-Commerce and volleyball coach Dave Fleming from Colorado Mesa, which competes on the Division II level.
Both have thrived at UNT. Burton has set the program record for wins in a season in each of his first two years, while Fleming guided the Mean Green to their first season with at least 20 since since 2017 this fall.
Daniyal Robinson is in his first season coaching the UNT men鈥檚 basketball team after guiding Cleveland State to four straight 20-win seasons.
Mosley will soon make his second football coaching hire as UNT looks to build on the momentum Morris established on his way to a host of milestones.
Morris is the third high-profile coach UNT has lost to power conference teams in recent years.
Men鈥檚 basketball coach Grant McCasland was hired by Texas Tech in the spring of 2023. West Virginia hired Ross Hodge earlier this year.
Morris added to that history of success and talked about the program鈥檚 growth Tuesday before Oklahoma State announced it had hired him later in the day.
鈥淚 have to shout out Jared,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had this plan. To see it kind of come to life over the course of three years and to see people committed has been great.鈥�
BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870 and bvito@dentonrc.com.
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